Lorene Schaefer has seen employment discrimination from both sides—as a general counsel who handled bias complaints against her company, and then as a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit charging gender discrimination.

So it makes sense that in late March the federal government invited her as one of seven attorneys to come to Washington, D.C., and discuss how to make the system at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission work better—for both complaining employees and their employers.

“My view is that it’s important as a matter of public policy that our resources go to try to help the parties resolve the dispute,” Schaefer told Corpcounsel.com on Wednesday. “Right now there is a huge missed opportunity.”

Schaefer is the former general counsel of General Electric Company’s transportation division. And it’s no surprise she favors mediation over lawsuits.

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